We all know participation in regular physical activity elicits a number of favorable responses that contributes to a healthy aging process. The seniors of today understand the importance of exercise and staying active. The Senior Fitness age-group of today can typically be defined as approximately from 55 years of age through 120 years. This means there is a huge variance in health histories, fitness experience and goals. Many people, as they age, develop some sort of limitation that may be specifically enhanced by a systematic personalized fitness program. Even small group classes are helpful to keep these clients exercising safely, effectively and purposefully.
Land Functional Personal Training Certification has been developed to help our senior clientele age well. It is estimated that by the year 2030 the number of individuals 65 years and over will reach 70 million people in United States. Statistics Canada says at the present time one in every 6 is over the age of 64.
Aging, a complex process, is influenced by many variables including genetics, lifestyle factors, work environment, health history and purpose in life. Planning a program that is safe, effective and suitable for the individuals goals and lifestyle is a valuable tool for the fitness professional.
The goal of this program is twofold.
- To help the professional diversify and expand their career opportunities as the pandemic has greatly impacted our fitness industry and our senior population. We know that people are more aware of the health risks of obesity, low cardio-respiratory fitness and other health issues such as diabetes and hypertension that may be improved through regular purposeful exercise.
- To help the client receive specific training exercises and tips to individualize their training program and age well. Most people have no idea how to exercise for a result oriented total body functional fitness program. Having a Trainer map out and guide them through a program will definitely be advantageous to fast track and achieve specific results.
Seniors may choose to attend a program at a fitness club or community center for specialized training. Some have a fitness center built into their residential home care. Seniors are becoming more selective and educated in the type of program they are looking for. Those interested in fitness are looking for encouragement and challenge with specific goals and benefits in mind. This means there is a need for a more personalized approach, using safe techniques and ideas that will enhance benefits to clients. An individualized program can help clients to improve function for activities of daily living, work on injury prevention, provide improvement for their sporting activities, add vitality to travel, as well as maintain and improve general health to age well.
Land Personal Training is incorporates gravity and functional well-being. Assume as in a private lesson, the individual wants to achieve more results in lesser amount of time. Essentially, this is why – Personal Training is a huge industry.
WaterART Fitness offers both land and water personal training with an emphasis on functional well-being. We know that the consumer will pay for health and wellness and they often achieve more results in a shorter amount of time with a personal training session than in a group exercise program. During Covid-19 – small group or one on one training was a great means to help people stay well with more home oriented and outdoor programming.
A personal trainer may be instrumental in reaching out and developing a suitable program for clients who are:
(a) not motivated to exercise on their own;
(b) do not know how to exercise on their own;
(c) do not want to exercise in a group; and
(d) want to make their exercise experience time effective and result oriented.
In order to design effective programs, a Trainer must possess many tools and techniques to specifically target the components of fitness – land or water. Personal training programs are designed based on each individual’s health needs, interests and desired goals. These are NOT generic programs or canned routines, but programs designed to reach specific goals developed from physical assessments, lifestyle questionnaires, program preferences and personalities. Functional and weight bearing exercise is a key component of this program.
A program may be suitable for any of the following themes:
- weight management,
- strength & endurance training,
- flexibility, relaxation,
- mind & body,
- cardiorespiratory improvement,
- athletic conditioning for any sport,
- specialized programming for the for the aging populations or medical conditions,
- or simply general health and maintenance.
How can an Personal Trainer benefit the Client?
A Personal Trainer will work to help the client achieve their goals, whether the client is a beginner or more advanced. Personal Trainers develop an innovative and powerful learning package that offers more gain for less pain. Most successful people are busy and don’t have time to spend on things that don’t work. Personal Trainers empower the client with personalized programs that are safe and effective to motivate clients to work towards reachable goals. They use specialized knowledge and functional equipment, and are part of the health care continuum.
Personal trainers need to have an excellent understanding of muscle mechanics and a diverse inventory of exercises that are both creative and motivating. Using a variety of equipment and techniques will be key for keeping the client progressing to achieve their desired results.
Personal trainers help the client to better understand how their body works, as well as empowering the client with unique body awareness and balance. The use of creative and motivating techniques to help the client learn and execute movements correctly is paramount for achieving results. Learning how to exercise properly is a cost-effective way to help individuals improve their body and enhance their quality of life.
Group Class Challenges Differ from Personal Training
One of the most challenging tasks in group-teaching is trying to train every participant to perform correct technique and achieve their goals simultaneously. In a group class, an instructor finds that the group is comprised of athletes and beginners of all ages and levels of fitness skills. Although everyone is cued to go at their own pace and perform the exercises that feel good how can a client change and modify the exercise if they do not know joint action or progression?
Sometimes the participant is suitable for the level of the class, but more often they are not. An instructor cannot watch all of the participants all the time. Even with the best quality teaching, imperfections develop leading to poor technique and body alignment. It is easy for a participant to get lost in a large group and never realize they are being offered corrections.
Some of the reasons people come to a group class is for motivation and camaraderie. The music or the speed may be the motivation. A personal trainer can do the same: add music or incorporate a group learning or training session.
One area that is quickly developing during the Covid-19 crisis is home fitness and wellness. People are realizing they need programs and they are at home more than ever before!
Potential clients may come from a group class situation, so the personal trainer must sell a specific service that group exercise does not offer. This service is specificity of training, or training for purpose, to get results.
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